{"id":394353,"date":"2026-04-23T21:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/394353\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:25:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:25:30","slug":"pe-and-sports-at-school-put-three-in-ten-off-exercise-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/394353\/","title":{"rendered":"PE and sports at school \u2018put three in ten off exercise for life\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freezing PE lessons, rainy cross country runs and being picked last for teams can put millions of people off sport for a lifetime, a charity has said.<\/p>\n

A poll by Age UK of 2,400 middle-aged adults found that three in ten said\u00a0\u201cpast sports memories\u201d from their school days had put them off exercise<\/a> \u201cfor life\u201d. Nearly half said they used to dread school PE lessons and many had never done sport since then, believing exercise is something \u201conly young people do\u201d.<\/p>\n

Two in five adults aged 50 to 65 said they still recall being picked last for teams and a similar proportion said they are troubled by memories of being body-conscious during PE.<\/p>\n

The charity has launched a new campaign urging people to take up sports in later life through inclusive classes and activities, as a way to improve physical and mental health in older age.<\/p>\n

Health leaders are calling for sports clubs to offer more inclusive options for\u00a0older adults, such as gym classes specifically targeted at over-50s or more introductory sessions.<\/p>\n

The campaign, Act Now, Age Better, has been backed by more than 40 sporting organisations including the Lawn Tennis Association, British Cycling and Sport England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AAge UK has launched a campaign urging people to take up sports in later life through inclusive classesGetty Images<\/p>\n

Paul Farmer, chief executive at Age UK, says: \u201cBeing active is an investment in your future, like paying into your own physical pension plan \u2026 However, our research shows that millions of mid-lifers feel held back by past sports memories. Challenging PE lessons, worries about judgment and feeling self-conscious, can make physical \u00adactivity feel out of reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that is all set to change. With Act Now, Age Better \u2026 our aim is to create inclusive, enjoyable opportunities that genuinely meet people where they are. Getting moving shouldn\u2019t feel intimidating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poll, by Yonder, found that many people over the age of 50 want to get back into sport. In terms of what would help them be more active, one quarter favoured age-specific classes, and one in five said they were motivated by \u00adopportunities to make new friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The campaign has been backed by the Olympians Dame Kelly Holmes and Sally Gunnell.<\/p>\n

Holmes said: \u201cThe benefits of sport and exercise are endless. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re a professional athlete competing on a world stage, or a busy parent who has just managed to carve out a few hours for yourself one evening a week \u2026 it can make a world of difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gunnell added: \u201cBeing active has always meant far more to me than medals or podiums. It\u2019s about feeling strong in your body, clear in your mind and connected to the people around you. You don\u2019t have to be an athlete to get moving and it doesn\u2019t have to feel daunting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Freezing PE lessons, rainy cross country runs and being picked last for teams can put millions of people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[565,134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-394353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}